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droughts and by modifications to natural water systems. 9 In fact, water stocks are being consumed faster than they are being replaced, but demand from agriculture, industry and the population is increasing. A serious crisis is expected by 2020. 10 Environmental problems Throughout the country the land is becoming less fertile, arable layers are being lost due to water and wind erosion, dams and reservoirs are silting up because of erosion, there is salinization and desertification, urban areas are being developed to the detriment of agricultural land, there are great accumulations of sand in arid areas and the oases, and mining and quarrying are causing the natural environment to deteriorate. Air pollution is also getting worse, due largely to the use of bad quality fuels, to very old vehicles continuing in use and to the emission of untreated industrial gases. As ecosystems are degraded the country’s biodiversity has come under threat, and the excessive exploitation of flora has put the very existence of several species at risk. 11 The coastal environment especially has suffered owing to the concentration of human activity in these areas. Untreated industrial and household waste is simply dumped, greatly depleting fishing resources. In the desert the oases are under threat and may disappear. In all parts of the country salinity levels are rising and land erosion is increasing, aggravated by the over-exploitation of resources, the natural and artificial desiccation of wetlands and a lack of infrastructure in mountain regions. 12 Cities have been growing with little or no urban planning, resulting in the spread of huge uncontrolled rubbish tips. Forests are also in danger, as trees are cut indiscriminately to obtain wood for fuel. This situation is aggravated by the fact that household waste collection services provide inadequate coverage, special waste (toxic, hospital, pesticides) is not treated, and urban sewage systems are getting old. The Garb-Chrada Beni Hsen region In terms of natural resources the Garb-Chrarda Beni Hsen region is among the richest in the country. It has considerable water stocks, an extensive plain of 4,200 km 2 and some 124,614 hectares of 9 See: Index Mundi, Morocco – Water pollution, . 10 See: . 11 See: . 12 See the video ¿Están los oasis marroquíes en vías de extinción?, on YouTube, . forest land. However, all these resources are under threat and ecosystems are deteriorating due to inefficient government management of development projects. One of the main environmental problems in this region is pollution from industrial activities. The worst culprits are the sugar mills (Dar Gueddari, Mechraa Bl Kseri and Sidi Allal Tazi), oil drilling, the Sidi Kacem oil refinery, and the Sidi Yahya pulp mill, which is responsible for 50% of the organic industrial pollution in the region. Another serious problem is how to manage the 80 million m 3 of domestic liquid waste that is generated in the region each year. Agriculture too is quite intensive, particularly on the plain of Garb, and is another big source of pollution, particularly of under soil water stocks. The most serious consequence is that water nitrate levels are rising, creating a health risk for the people who consume it. This region is one of the worst hit by water erosion, above all in the Uarga valley where, because of its rugged topography, average deterioration is 2,070 t/km 2 /year. In contrast, the loss in the Sebú valley is 600 t/km 2 /year. Severe soil erosion has also left the region particularly vulnerable to flooding, a threat made more serious by the fact that the Al Wahda dam is functioning badly. Inaugurated in 1997, the dam is the biggest in the country and the second biggest in Africa, but because of sedimentation the reservoir is losing around 60 million m 3 of storage capacity per year. 13 Conditions in Morocco’s towns and cities are also rapidly deteriorating. In most cases the systems to handle liquid waste are inadequate, and urban centres either have no sanitary systems or have ancient systems that lack the necessary capacity, resulting in flooding, pollution and nauseating smells. Most of the waste is simply fed into surface water courses. The collection and dumping of solid waste is another serious challenge. There are no guidelines for managing such operations, which are selective as well as inadequate, and the current practice of mixing medical and industrial waste with household waste involves serious health risks. Degradation of the wetlands of the littoral zone The wetlands of the littoral zone stretch for 140 km. Presently, this region is facing pressing environmental issues as a result of tourism, population growth 13 Wikipedia, Al Wahda Dam (Morocco), . Social Watch 141 Morocco and lack of long-term planning and viable development strategies. 14 The wetlands, which are extremely sensitive to changes from outside, are being polluted with industrial, urban and agricultural waste, thereby raising air, water and soil toxicity levels. The region’s lakes are also being polluted. One, Sidi Boughaba lake, is protected thanks to its status as a forest area, but there are no clear regulations about how other lakes should be managed or preserved. Tourism in the wetlands is also being developed, which is yet another negative factor. The Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are still the main reference framework for the country’s concerned citizens and civil society organizations. The High Commissioner for Planning claims that with only four years until the 2015 deadline, Morocco’s performance makes it one of the countries that can reach its goals in time. 15 Unfortunately there is little justification for this optimism. The main obstacles are as follows: • The passage and implementation of environmental protection laws is very slow. • The impacts of climate change are likely to be serious, and are as yet unpredictable. • The great pressure on the country’s natural resources. • Lack of public awareness of these problems and lack of political will to solve them. Conclusions Morocco has been very lax about managing its resources, a situation which must change. The country is heading for an ecological crisis and nobody knows how severe it will be. The development models implemented by the Government, and the lack of long-term planning, has led to increased inequality among segments of the population. Morocco’s GINI index rating, which measures differences in the distribution of wealth, has risen in the last 20 years: at the start of the 1990s it stood at 39 points but the estimate for 2011 is just under 41 points. 16 The gap between rich and poor is shocking, especially when we bear in mind the extremely tough conditions that the most deprived sectors have to cope with. n 14 See: . 15 Morocco Business News, Morocco to achieve MDGs by 2015, HCP, (April 14 2010), . 16 Trading Economics, GINI index in Morocco, (2011), .
moZamBiQue An irresponsible administration Human Rights League Public Integrity Centre Informal Justice Support Centre Custódio Duma, Coordinator Mozambique has considerable natural resources in the form of natural gas, vegetal coal, aluminium, silver, more than 2,500 kilometres of coastline, rivers, forests, wood and a great potential for tourism. 1 However there is little chance of this wealth being used to help reduce poverty, first and foremost because the country is pursuing an irresponsible and unsustainable policy of promoting mega-projects. Some studies go so far as to suggest the Government is incapable of administering these natural resources or of managing exploitation concessions in a way that benefits the country’s economy or the population at large, and this means it is missing opportunities to promote national development. 2 Since the end of last year economists, civil society organizations, and even the Commission of Catholic Bishops of Mozambique have been trying to persuade the Government to reverse its policy of granting tax exemptions to mega-projects while the tax pressure on the general public is increasing. A November 2009 review by the African Peer Review Mechanism 3 reported that Mozambique’s public administration is very politicized and that it is difficult to distinguish between the State and Frelimo, the party in power since independence in 1975. Not only is this combination of party and State a discriminatory way to manage the public sector, but it also undermines public policy planning and means that all socio-economic development processes are tied to politics. Moreover, with its vacuous pronouncements and failed measures, the Government has shown that it is incapable not only of combating poverty and social inequalities but also of formulating a convincing plan to improve people’s lives. 1 Maps of the World, “Mozambique Natural Resources,” . 2 C. N. Castel-Branco, “O que é que a ITIE faz bem e o que é que não faz? Uma proposta de agenda de trabalho sobre os recursos naturais em Moçambique,” 25 February 2011, . 3 African Peer Review Mechanism, Country Review Report: Mozambique, APRM Country Review Report No. 11, June 2009, . The Government has shown it is not only unable to combat poverty and social inequalities but also incapable of formulating a convincing plan to improve the population’s quality of life. The benefits of economic growth have not reached the people who need them most and the poor are getting poorer. The current economic model is clearly unsustainable and the Government is failing to administer the country’s natural resources or manage exploitation concessions so that these benefit the population as a whole. Some progress has been made in the fight against corruption but this is still one of the main obstacles to increasing people’s well-being. Basic Capabilities Index (BCI) BCI = 68 Births attended 55 100 0 51 Children reaching 5th grade 100 100 National reports 142 Social Watch Surviving under-5 False growth The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported in April that Mozambique’s economic growth in 2010 was among the highest in the region 4 and predicted a real GDP rise of 7.25% in 2011 and 8% in the medium term. The problem is that the economic benefits of this expansion do not help the poor, who continue to get poorer. The minimum monthly wage is MZN 2,700 (USD 90), which according to trade unions and workers’ organizations is only enough to satisfy 35% of a family’s basic needs. 5 A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers showed that in 2011 pay increased by only 9.8% while inflation was 15%, so in fact wages have fallen by 5.2%. When we consider that more than half of Mozambique’s general budget is financed by donor countries and 80% of its investment is from foreign sources, it is no surprise that many economists believe the country’s economic growth is false. 6 None of the main factors in the economy – such as the balance of payments, the State budget, investments or control of inflation – are determined by the country’s wealth or are functions of internal equilibrium, the domestic market or national production. They are all based on foreign resources. 4 MacauHub, “IMF says Mozambican economy post growth of 6.5 pct in 2010,” 11 April 2011, . 5 Empresas e Negócios, “Salários mínimos são marca da pobreza em Moçambique,” 26 March 2011, . 6 Canalmoz, “Estabilidade económica de Moçambique é falsa”, interview with João Mosca, 12 April 2011, . 86 Gender Equity Index (GEI) GEI = 58 Education 100 Empowerment 59 100 68 100 Economic activity The high inflation rate may be a direct consequence of the rise in international prices for food and crude oil, but it is clear that Mozambique is unable to exploit its potential and produce foodstuffs and other products that could be exported and help reduce dependence on foreign aid. The country’s economic ills can be traced above all to its growth models, which are unsustainable or unrealistic. The fight against corruption Transparency International reports that Mozambique has made some progress against corruption, moving from 130th out of 178 countries in 2009 to 116th in 2010. 7 Corruption is still one of the main obstacles to development however, compounded by a combination of other related factors including weaknesses in management procedures, lack of transparency in public administration, impunity for wrongdoers and obsolete legislation in this area. Mozambique’s ranking on the corruption scale has improved because two important cases involving the embezzlement of public funds have come before the courts. These involved two ex-ministers (one of the Interior and the other of Transport and Communications) and also a president of the Council for the Administration of Airports, with the total loss amounting to around USD 10 million. But even so, the final ruling in these cases 8 demonstrated how much the judiciary is manipulated by the political arm of government. 7 Transparency International, “Corruption Perceptions Index 2010 Results,” . 8 The Boston Globe, “Sentence Reduced in Mozambican Corruption Case,” (24 May 2011), . 0 48
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SOCIAL WATCH R E P O R T 2 0 1 2 SU
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SOCIAL WATCH REPORT 2012 The right
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Social Watch in the world SW Nation
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• GUATEMALA: CONGCOOP - Coordinac
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Española de la Educación; Movimie
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Social Watch: promoting accountabil
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Global Assembly The Global Assembly
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Table of contents The right to a fu
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The right to a future An overview o
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has similarly led to population dis
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In the current international trade
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Rio+20 and beyond: no future withou
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ated into many other international
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• Emphasizing progressive taxatio
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A compensation scheme to pay off cl
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Rio+20: implementation is the key A
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Sustainable development and a renew
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policies that have only exacerbated
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neoliberal model, it gained even mo
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Thus, the advances of the sustainab
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Networking cities that use new indi
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Green and equal: financing for sust
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fROM AID EffECTIvENESS TO TAx jUSTI
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casions, often reaching agreement.
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The indignados are asking the right
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Green jobs but no justice From the
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Human right to adequate housing and
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have its most negative impacts and
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BASIC CAPABILITIES INDEx 2011 The b
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TeChnICal noTes 1 The following are
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surviving under-5 Birth atended Chi
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education malawi 89 57 32 59 malays
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Achievement Possibility Frontiers (
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promoTIng eConomIC and soCIal rIghT
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Core Country serf Index Country Cor
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From the grassroots: NATIONAL REPOR
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Education and gender equality Accor
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- have gradually put sustainable de
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FIGURE 1 GDP - Real growth rate (%)
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diversified manner and underscored
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was re-opened shortly afterwards wi
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waste water is often polluted by hu
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“Europe is alone with its unilate
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into the atmosphere, with emissions
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The Kyoto Protocol includes an anti
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However, the Government has not tak
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One egregious example is the offici
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The grim face of militarized develo
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Cooperation Agency study stated dur
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Unemployment According to a 2009 st
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and experience their status in the
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Page 112 and 113: FIGURE 1 Unemployment in Croatia me
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Page 128 and 129: WORLD LEVEL COMMITMENTS The world h
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Page 132 and 133: TABLE 1 Trends in Forest Cover in G
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Page 144 and 145: In terms of development cooperation
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Page 174 and 175: is almost twice that of Latin Ameri
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Page 190 and 191: ASIA’S LONGEST CIVIL WAR The Sri
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The national biomass (above and bel
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